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The HR10 offers the usual range of connectivity options for a High Definition camcorder. There's a full-sized HDMI plug for hooking up to an HDTV digitally, or component analogue if your set doesn't have this input. Alternatively, a proprietary connector offers compositive analogue and RCA audio, but not S-video. The USB connection can be used to bring video onto a PC for editing, or you can simply pop the disc in your DVD drive. Unfortunately, in either case you have to finalise the disc first, which can take as much as ten minutes, and must be done with the mains adapter attached.

The AVCHD footage can then be edited with the Corel software Canon supplies, which includes Ulead DVD MovieFactory SE. Or you can import it into a number of third-party alternatives, such as Ulead VideoStudio 11 Plus or Pinnacle Studio 11 Plus - but nothing from Adobe just yet, without the use of conversion software. At least, in theory, as we were unable to use either method to import video into our test system. What you also can't do is pop the disc into a DVD player to watch it, although the PlayStation 3's Blu-ray drive has been reported as compatible, as has Panasonic's DMP-BD10.

Verdict

Although the HR10 continues the high video-quality theme of the HV20 and HG10, it's not quite in the same league. Aside from the lack of enthusiast features, what really lets it down is the DVD recording format itself. The limited storage has always been an issue with optical disc-recording camcorders, even standard definition ones. But with AVCHD, you don't even get the compensation of being able to pop the discs into your DVD player to watch them straight away. So, although the HR10 already has quite a reasonable street price, we'd recommend waiting for a Blu-ray model if a disc-based camcorder is what you're after.

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